I know it is a bit late to review this but at least I did it before the actual DR2 release date on September 28th.

Case Zero is good.

I was a little uneasy about paying for a demo but there is definitely some replay value as well as achievement perks (for all of you achievement whores out there- that’s me, and I still don’t know why) that you can carry over to the actual game.

The feel of the original is here but they tweaked a few of the flaws from the first- all tweaks were an improvement. The best improvement is the aim function when you are using guns. You can strafe and fire at the same time, and when you run out of bullets you can throw the gun- perfect. While guns are more useful Dead Rising is still all about melee.

The second best improvement- weapon upgrades. Through the game you find a work station and you can take items to it to create your own customized weapon, my favorite is the good ol baseball bat with nails. As you use these weapons you gain additional PP (he he) and you can collect weapons cards a la pokemon, but that does not make you less of man… just a little more girly.

The structure of the game is much the same, you have X amount of time to find your daughter her next dose of Zombrex to keep her from becoming a lil zombie. In that time you run into other survivors that you can choose to help or not, hey its the apocalypse and you have a daughter to look after- nobody should judge you.

One of the things that a lot of people did not like about the first Dead Rising other than the smell was the save system. Here you get 3 slots and it helps a lot. This is good when you decide killing 1,000 zombies for an achievement is more important than building a dirt bike to get Chuck and his daughter out of town. In my first play through I made sure 1,000 were down before I went to administer the Zombrex but it got too dark and you have to fight a psycho- then the army shows up. This is where the save feature rocks. After getting whatever achievement I was after I can just go back earlier to finish the storyline, no DeLorean necessary.

Another small nit I had with this is that Chuck doesn’t really run so well, he kind of gallops about and it gets a little tedious at times. It would have been great if there were a run button to get just a little extra burst of speed at least for a short time. Some of the new zombies are quick.

Weapons, Weapons, Weapons… did I mention Weapons? There are so many things you can use and so many things you can see that will be used in the main game. I am looking forward to using the scissor boxing gloves. Until I get the Kruger-Tyson special I am enjoying having Chuck consume massive amounts of booze until he throws up, causing Zombie-stooge-esque hijinks to ensue. While this can be hilarious if you time

it just right in front of a group you tend to drop any weapon you have in hand so it can get dangerous. If you are the adventurous type and like jumping on buildings check out the ledge above the diner- Broadsword. Yes, you can be William Wallace, just mind the life of the sword so you don’t get your face bitten off.

Over all I really liked this DLC, yes it is 400 Microsoft points but it is actually worth it. I am Hopeful that Dead Rising 2 will put the DLC to shame.